The Kenya Criminal Investigation Service said “five other suspects remain at large”. (document)
Nairobi:
The main suspect in a deadly gas explosion and fire in a densely populated area of Nairobi appeared in court in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday.
A truck loaded with gas tanks exploded in the Embakasi area southeast of Nairobi on Thursday night, triggering a violent fireball that killed six people and injured about 280 others.
Derrick Kimathi, who police say rented the “illegal” petrol station where the disaster occurred, was escorted to a court in Nairobi by police wearing a black beanie and face mask.
His lawyer has previously said Kimati would cooperate with police but denied he operated a natural gas refueling plant at the site of the explosion.
The Kenya Criminal Investigation Service earlier announced the arrest of Kimati, along with three officials from the National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA), who were accused of being responsible for the tragedy.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), it described Kimati as the “primary suspect” but did not elaborate on when or where the suspect was arrested.
NEMA staff are accused of erroneously issuing permits allowing LPG bunkering and storage plants to operate in densely populated areas.
“Five additional suspects remain at large and are wanted by the CIA to answer for their crimes, which have caused untold physical and mental suffering to fellow Kenyans,” the CIA statement said, along with the suspects. photos of people.
They allegedly included the site manager, two other NEMA employees, a truck driver and another driver.
‘Incompetence and corruption’
President William Ruto said over the weekend that permits for gas installations in residential areas were wrongly issued “due to incompetence and corruption”, without mentioning NEMA.
“Those who were involved in this… they must be fired and they must be prosecuted for the crimes they committed.”
The huge fire that broke out in the residential area of Embakasi Mradi left a trail of severe damage, destroying vehicles, business premises and houses.
Embakasi has a population of nearly 1 million according to the 2019 census and is located close to Kenya International Airport.
NEMA said on Saturday that Maxxis Nairobi Energy received a license to operate a gas plant at the site in February last year.
But the agency said it “noticed with great concern” some serious deficiencies in the licensing process and suspended four employees pending further investigation.
The East African Petroleum Association said on Friday that the owner of the gas pool and some customers had previously been convicted and sentenced in May 2023, but did not disclose their identities.
The owner continued to operate the facility “without even the minimum safety standards and qualified LPG personnel required by law,” the report said.
Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) also said it had refused permission to build an LPG storage and bunkering plant at the site three times last year.
Kimathi’s lawyer, Wandugi Karathe, told the media over the weekend that his client was willing to cooperate fully with the police investigation.
He said: “My client refutes at this time all incorrect allegations that have been aired and published in the media and tacitly acknowledges that he is responsible for this unfortunate incident.”
He insisted Kimati was operating a garage at the site, not a petrol station, and said the truck that exploded was “trespassing without his knowledge”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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